Washer-extractor machine

ABSTRACT

A washer-extractor machine, in particular a drum type washing machine that provides savings of water, energy and time and at the same time increases washing and extraction efficiency. A washing and rinsing process realized using this machine is also disclosed.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This patent application is a continuation application of U.S. Ser. No.12/742,646, filed May 12, 2010, which is the national phase of theinternational application PCT/TR2008/000127 filed on Nov. 12, 2008, andwhich claims priority on Turkish patent application No. 2008/8605 filedon Nov. 12, 2008, and also on Turkish patent application No. 2007/7754filed on Nov. 12, 2007. The disclosure of all these patent applicationsare incorporated herein in their entireties for any purpose.

FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention is related to washer-extractor machines and in particularto drum type washing machines that provide saving from water, energy andtime and at the same time increase washing and extraction efficiency.The machine according to this invention prevents the harm of the textilecaused by the drum perforations and also during the high speed spinningstage. This invention is also related to a washing and rinsing processrealized using this machine.

Washing machines are provided with various capacities for domestic andindustrial applications in order to use for various processes thatenable washing and/or chemical treatment of different materials,especially textile products. Besides washing machines for domestic use,there also exist several industrial types, providing physical andchemical treatments such as washing, stone-washing, dry-cleaning,bleaching, softening, and dyeing.

Horizontal drum washing machines that constitute the object of thepresent application comprise a cylindrical, either horizontal orinclined with horizontal liquid tub and a perforated basket drumarranged in a same position with tub placed in it and, rotating around ashaft-bearing unit and wherein material is/are loaded. Said washingmachines are divided into two groups, front loading drums wherein thedrum comprises a bearing on one side only and those wherein the drum isprovided with bearings on two sides.

Aforementioned drums are in general constructed from stainless steel.Perforations provided over a drum surface enable the inflow of liquidsuch as water, solvents, chemicals and hot water that heated outside thedrum, as well as the outflow of liquid to be discharged. Centrifugalforce created by the rotation of a drum at high speed to separate acertain amount of liquid absorbed by the material and drain out throughdrum perforations.

In order to fill the drum with liquid such as water or, to heat water,to mix chemicals into water, to measure water temperature, to measurewater level, to drain water, and to collect liquid draining out throughthe drum perforations during a spinning cycle, a tub is needed outsidethe drum, and in order to prevent said drum to contact said tub whilespinning, a space is necessary in between. When washing liquid requiredfor a washing process is taken inside a tub, the amount of liquidfilling the space between said tub and the drum corresponds to nearly15-35% of necessary liquid. Liquid draining from a limited permeabilitydrum can be restrained and flow back is maintained therein by means of apump which has a higher flow-rate than that permeated water, enablingtherefore an evacuation of the volume between the drum and the tub whileat the same time an adequate amount of liquid existing inside the drum.The drum, which constitutes the object of the invention, providesconsiderable savings of water, energy, chemicals, and time by means ofemptying said exterior space during a washing process. Saving of waterand chemicals is important as far as consumption is concerned and alsoit is vital to decrease the amount of waste water contaminated withchemicals, thus preventing environmental pollution.

During a washing process, the interaction of water and/or chemicals withwashed materials inside a drum is achieved by lifting and fallingmovements of said materials, which obtained with the drum rotation.Conventional perforated drums contain lifter beaters which are calledribs in sizes proportional to the diameter of the drum. In washingmachines using less water, rib heights varies approximately between 6 to12% of the diameter of the drum, while this proportion reaches 12 to 20%in machines using more water. The size of said ribs should enablelifting a considerable amount of the laundry mass. In conventionalwashing machines, the number of ribs is limited to 6 or maximum 8.Washing is both a chemical and a physical process. One other importantfunction of washing machines is to extract liquid from processedmaterial by way of a centrifugal force produced from spinning of drum athigh speeds. Due to centrifugal force, extracting pressure at highspeeds may attain values up to 400-500G; and in the case of highcapacity machines, wherein laundry stretches very tightly over ribs, andspaces remain underneath between the ribs and drum sheet, such physicalpressure may applied to said laundry to stretch towards the spaces andcauses damages or tearing. On the other hand, laundry over the ribs,placed during distribution, is more close to the rotation axis, means itundergoes less centrifugal force, and more liquid remains thereon. Ifmaterial is lifted by means of many small ribs or protrusions scatteredin very short intervals and homogeneously over the cylindrical surfaceof a drum, said drum constituting the object of the invention, anydamage caused to textile by normal size ribs can be prevented. Height ofsaid small ribs and protrusions indicated here is approximately between1 to 6% of the diameter of said drum.

Protrusive cylindrical surface of a drum also provides other advantagesbesides the facility of lifting washing material. Such protrusivestructure, augments the physical effect while washing, helps to rotatethe material in more homogeneous and more regular manner, enables betterdistribution of laundry inside the drum at the start of extraction andorients extracted water towards the perforations. During extractionphase, textile dispersed over a usual perforated cylindrical surfacegets more and more squeezed as centrifugal force increases pressurethereon, which restrains not only water passage through the textilefibers, but also drainage ways through the drum perforations. Waterdrainage from a drum can be accelerated by employing adequately elevatedand dense protrusions that are provided in the present invention, inwhich situation laundry will stretch towards the spaces between theprotrusions but will not reach to block the perforations. Draining moreextracted water at an equal spinning speed and equal time is providedand in return improved extraction efficiency without any change in theenergy consumption is obtained.

Many solutions have been suggested to achieve water and energy savingsin washing machines. The system described in the US Patent ApplicationNo 20070028654 is unable to provide solutions to problems such as waterdrainage from a drum obtained only during an extraction phase and out ofone particular area, water having to pass through washed fabrics beforeattaining the perforations during an extraction and causing thereforeinsoluble particles to deposit inside said fabrics, impossibilityre-heating if necessary, and the drain difficulties. Explanationsrecommended in the US Patent Application No 20050015892 and the USPatent Application No 20050028298 do not supply solutions to problemssuch as the backward slanting position of a drum, necessity to have saiddrum to spin at high speed for evacuation, water level inside said drumconsiderably altering the amount of water drained there from, limitedamount of drainage out of said drum during both drain and extractioncycles, water passing through washed fabrics during drain and thereforedepositing particles which should normally be carried away with water.Both systems suggested are difficult to put into practice because theamount of water that will pass through drum into the tub is exceed thecapacity of pumps used in domestic washing machines in the case whenmaterial and water exceed the drum mouth level. Even the features ofsuch a drum, neither placed horizontally nor cylindrically shaped as instandard and common drums, may create problems in practice. However, inorder to apply all types of washing machines and washing operations, adram should be designed so as to allow dry fabrics to be fully loadedtherein and enabling water level to exceed the half level of the drum.

The invention disclosed in the present application provides savings fromwater, energy, chemicals and time consumption as attempted by theforegoing references, through limiting water use by the strictlynecessary amount for the inner drum, enabling implementation in alltypes of perforated drums horizontal or inclined with the horizontal,independent from water level or the amount of fabrics loaded therein.Moreover, as explained below in several embodiments, the application ofmethods, corresponding to the purpose of the present invention, has beenreduced to such basic essentials that no alteration is required in theproduction techniques of conventional and commonly used horizontalwashing machines. Providing the cylindrical surface of a drum withperforations as in ordinary drums, and enabling water drainage throughsaid perforations during both drain and extraction cycles prevent notonly efficiency loss in washing and extraction but also the creation ofnew problems.

BRIEF EXPLANATION OF THE FIGURES

The invention shall be explained in detail here below with references tothe attached figures, where:

FIG. 1 represents a perspective sectional view of a washing machineshowing drum perforations in reduced size (B) and with dram mouthcovered (A).

FIG. 2 represents a perspective sectional view of a washing machineshowing drum perforations covered with a fabric (A) and with sheeting(B) that comprises perforations smaller than drum perforations (B).

FIG. 3 represents a perspective sectional view of drum perforationscoated with sheeting that comprises a slits thereon.

FIG. 4 represents a perspective sectional view of drum perforationscovered with sheeting that comprises perforations smaller than drumperforations, surface of said sheeting shaped in a bulging curve so asto facilitate water drainage from said drum.

FIG. 5 represents a perspective sectional view of numerous lifter ribsdispersed over a drum surface and a water tank arranged inside a tub.

FIG. 6 represents a perspective view of a perforated metal sheet thatpartly covers the perforated cylindrical surface of a drum, said metalsheet which is reduced in size through coating with rubber or plasticmaterial.

FIG. 7 represents a perspective view of the perforated cylindricalsurface of a drum coated with a material comprising protrusions.

FIG. 8 represents a perspective view of different protrusive materialsused in coating the perforated cylindrical surface of a drum.

FIG. 9 represents a perspective view of various protrusive materialsthat are applied in pieces and assembled onto the perforated cylindricalsurface of a drum and of the assemblage of said pieces.

FIG. 10 represents a perspective view showing the impact on laundry of aprotrusive coating on the perforated cylindrical surface of a drumduring extraction.

FIG. 11 represents a perspective view of a drum, wherein a metal sheetis given a protrusive configuration by undulating (A) or by shaping aplastic material in a mould (B), to match said metal sheet perforationswith the bored zones thereof.

FIG. 12 represents a perspective view of the perforated cylindricalsurface of a large industrial drum provided with a protrusiveconfiguration through the addition of metal, rubber or plastic pieces.

FIG. 13 represents a perspective view of the cross section of twoprotrusions hiding the drum perforations underneath.

List of component numbers used in the description

 1 Washing machine  5 Drum  8 Large drum perforations  9 Perforated drumsurface 10 Water tub 11 Shaft-bearing 12 Drum mouth bellow 13 Door 14Drum mouth 15 Drain 16 Circulation pump 17 Drain pump 18 Filter 19 Metalsheet coated with plastic-rubber 20-a Small perforations over front-rearcover 20-b Small perforations over drum cylindrical surface 21Perforations reduced in size 22-a Flat sheeting with small perforations22-b Fabric or pores material 22-c Sheeting with slits 22-d Bulgingsheeting with small perforations 23 Slits 24 Drum locker perforations 25Conical locker 26 Perforated bulging locker 27 Bulging protrutions 28Bores of a bulge 29 Plastic-rubber coating 30 Coating width ofperforated metal sheet 31-a Rib shaped sheeting with small perforations31-b Protrusive sheeting with small perforations 31-c Conicallyprotrusive sheeting with small perforations 31-d Protrusive sheet withsmall perforations 32-a Plastic pieces with small perforations 32-bSmall conical plastic pieces 32-c Small ribs 32-d Small stainless ribs33-a Corrugated stainless surface 33-b Corrugated plastic surface 34Sealing gasket 35 Door glass 36 Weight protrustion on a sealing gasket37 Drum-tub water passage space 38 Return to drum 38-b Spray nozzle 39Heating volume 40 Circulation line 41 Electrical heater 42 Perforaton ona plastic-rubber sheet 43 Evacuation 44 Water storage tank 45-a Ribshaped protrusions 45-b Pyramidal protrusions 45-c Conical protrusions45-d Sheet protrusions 45-e Profiled protrusions 45-f Individual conicalprotrusions 45-g, h Shaped drum protrusions 45-i, j Ribs added to thedrum surface 45-k Protrusions having water flow gaps underneath 46 Bores47-a Front drum cover 47-b Rear drum cover 48 Processed material 49Perforated plastic 50 Usual normal size rib 51 Small protrusive plasticpieces 52 Water flow passage beneath the protrusions

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In below descriptions the term “water” is to be understood to cover“liquids and chemical solvents” using in any kind of washing anddry-cleaning machines.

The object of the present invention is to provide a drum washing machinethatenables;

-   -   during wet or dry washing processes through the use of a pump        that evacuates the water in the space between a drum and a tub        by pumping water from tub into the drum, said drum with reduced        water permeability and said pump flow-rate capacity of which is        higher than that of drained water from the drum to maintain said        drum constantly with adequate water level, therefore limiting        total water usage in the machine with the required amount of        water within the drum, results savings from water to fill the        space between the drum and the tub and the empty space of ribs        and the balance cells, as well as savings in energy consumption        that is required to heat such amount of water and to rotate the        drum,    -   to enable same material/water ratio to use water for any loading        quantity independently from machine capacities to be able to use        the machine for loads smaller than usual capacities under same        economic conditions.    -   to prevent drum perforations damaging delicate textile by means        of coating said perforations with a woven fabric,    -   to prevent textile being harmed during washing and especially        during high speed spinning by a few number of elevated ribs that        are applied in large drums, by means of substituting several low        and small ribs or protrusions in various shapes for lifting said        material,    -   to increase physical effect on washed material and to increase        water passage through perforation during extraction either        through providing the interior surface of a drum with protrusive        construction or coating with protrusive material or through        attaching pieces so as to obtain protrusions over the perforated        surface of said drum,    -   to maintain a more homogeneous and balanced distribution of        laundry over a cylindrical perforated drum surface during        extraction by means of small ribs or protrusions dispersed        homogenously thereon and uplifting said material while said drum        rotates,    -   to prevent damaging of delicate textile during washing by means        of permeating the water through said textile while rotating same        speed with drum which are spread over several small ribs or        protrusions that are provided on the perforated surface during        spinning of approximately at distribution speed.    -   to increase rubbing effect during a washing by using of storage        volume provided in said tub wherein to accumulate water by        reducing water level in said drum by means of pausing pump        circulation intermittently so augmenting friction between the        fabrics and between said fabrics with drum protrusions.    -   to provide draining big dirt pieces or dirt pellets especially        occurred during washing of materials such as carpet, door/dust        mat or mop; through drum perforations, by means of adequate size        big holes placed between said protrusions that prevent damages        on said materials by said holes.

Water passes through drum perforations and also through drum mouth infront-loading drum washing machines. In a drum of the present invention,water flow through the perforation and drum entrance mouth is restrainedin various techniques. Water with limited flow rate draining from saiddrum into a tub is sucked from underneath the tub by a pump, flowcapacity of which is higher than the flow rate of draining water, andflow back into said drum by any way such as from the door or through theinterior of the drum shaft or by way of an elastic mouth bellow situatedbetween the tub and the drum, thus enabling a complete evacuation of thewater in the space between said drum and said tub even when the drum isfull with adequate water for washing. In conventionally designed drums,water passage from a drum is limited by way of reducing the diameterand/or diminishing the number of perforations or by lining with amaterial which has limited permeability onto the perforated drumsurfaces. Said sheeting can be produced from metal, plastic, rubber or asimilar substance, or a fabric or a material which although has ahomogeneous structure that enables a certain amount of water oozingthrough its structural pores. The present invention enables to makesavings from water, where conventional washing machines fill the volumebetween a drum and a tub, providing also savings from energy consumptionto heat said water and from time to heat such water. Also, since duringa washing cycle, there is no water contained inside the external tub,transmission of conduction heat loss from outer surface of the tubdecreases. Absence of water outside the drum during washing resultsenergy savings that consumed is in order to rotate the drum. Besides,reducing environmental pollution is another benefit, as savings of waterlessens the amount of wastewater contaminated with chemicals.

Various techniques can be employed to provide a protrusive configurationon the surface of perforated sheeting to coat the perforated surface ofa drum. There is also the possibility of covering the cylindricalsurface of a drum with a lot of pieces made of metal, plastic or rubberby assembling said pieces, so as to provide said surface with aprotrusive shape. A configuration which is applied onto a drum surfaceso as to form a bulge thereon which facilitates water drainage throughdrum perforations while spinning, a protrusive configuration withprotrusions in adequate heights and forms, will also augment physicalimpact effect on the laundry and provide rubbing effect during a washingcycle. Using small protrusions instead of normal size ribs causes higherdrum rotation per same time during washing in order to rotate washingmaterial on the same moving route. More rotation per same time meansmore physical effect and increase in washing efficiency. Stone washingprovides special worn out process on denim fabric products. During stonewashing, abrasive material used for said stone effect also abrades drumsurfaces. Removable plastic protrusions protect perforated drum surfacefrom said abrasive effect, increase physical friction and rubbingeffects thus provide better and more homogeneous washing.

Extraction process begins by distribution; fabrics which spin togetherwith the drum stuck thereon spread onto the protrusions over thesurface; as centrifuge force rises, fabrics stretch towards the space inbetween the protrusions and cause the fibers draw apart, whichfacilitates the water flow through. Lifted up by said protrusions,fabrics do not block perforations and water extracted from said fabricscan easily reach to said perforations. To prevent damaging of delicatetextile during washing, protrusions in smaller size have to be applied.In this case, said protrusions can be made of elastic material.Protrusive pieces may also used to hide drum perforations completely.

Since protrusions in various shapes and sizes dispersed along the entiresurface effectuate a lifting function while washing, utilization ofadditional normal size ribs that are used in conventional machines,becomes unnecessary. In this embodiment, either by applying the lowersized ribs or the absence of normal size ribs in the drum also resolvesthe laundry damaging problems which arise due to the height of ribsduring high speed extraction. By using small size ribs instead of normalusual size ribs, fabrics inside the drum are more homogeneouslydistributed during washing and extraction processes. Common type highribs can also used together with small protrusions helping to rotatematerial. If said protrusions are in the shape of small sized ribsdistributed whole drum surface and placed with an angle to the rotationaxis or helically shaped they help to move laundry also to samedirection with rotation axis, either from back to front or reverse. Saidcontinuous position changing constitutes more homogenous washingprocess. Several protrusions of various heights as a non-homogenoussurface may be used along with small protrusions to facilitate themoving of the material with the drum.

Water in the drum exerts a buffer function between washed materials andreduces the rubbing effect thereof. Washing efficiency can be increasedby decreasing water amount, which augments friction and removes dirtfrom said materials; then increasing water level again, allows to removedirt by mixing with water. Rubbing the fabrics during a washing processcan be repeated several times by increasing and decreasing water amount.If the amount of water is to be decreased, the pump circulating waterfrom the tub into the drum is paused, letting water to store inside thetub or a tank installed either within or outside the tub. When the pumpstarts running, the drum is refilled with water from the tank. Forpresent invention volume of the space between drum and tub is notimportant anymore because said volume does not keep water anymore.

In order to control water drainage, the perforated surface of acylindrical drum can also be coated with an adequate fabric. Anotherpurpose of coating a perforated drum surface with fabric is to form ascreen over the perforations to prevent any damage to delicate fabricswhich may caused by burrs present inside the holes or the cutting edgesthereof.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A drum type wet or dry washing machine (I)5 wherein the characteristicsthat constitute the object of the present invention are implemented,comprises a perforated drum (5) inside a cylindrical tub (10), asillustrated in FIG. 1, which is suitable for front loading and to rotatehorizontally or inclined to the rotation axis by means of ashaft-bearing (11) provided on one side in the back or on both sides. Inindustrial or domestic front-loading washing machines, drum entrancemouth (14) is shut by a door (13), either directly connected to the tub(10), or connected to an outer chassis independent from the tub (10),where an elastic bellow (12) is provided to maintain an integrity withthe tub (10) and drum to keep water in the tub. In drums with bearingson both sides, door is provided both in the drum and in the tub inindustrial machines. In spite of some differences in size and details,principal components of domestic front-loading machines are similar withindustrial washing and dry-cleaning machines. To simplify figures anddescriptions, front-loading domestic washers (1) are used in the presentapplication. Embodiments illustrated and described below throughdomestic type washers can be implemented in all industrial washingmachines, both in those with single side bearing and with both sidesbearing.

In a washing machine (1) which is object of the invention, in order toprevent keeping any unnecessary water inside the tub, drained water fromthe drum (5) to the tub (10) is pumped back to the drum (5) during allwet processes by means of a pump (16) while required amount or level ofwater exists inside the said drum (5) for a particular process. Thefulfillment of this condition is possible either by way of providing apump (16) big enough to pump more water than water drained out from thedrum or by implementing various methods to reduce water drainage fromthe drum so as to correspond to the capacity of the pump employed. If aselected pump (16) has a flow-rate more than water drain-rate from thedrum (5), then said pump can evacuate the space (39) between the drumand the tub (10). However, considering the number of drum (5)perforations (8) and diameters of a conventional washer, pump (16) thatcan handle the drained water flows from drum must be oversized forpractical use. Water drainage has to be restricted from the drum duringwet processes so a pump (16) can be able to pump back the drained waterfrom the drum (5). Water permeability of a drum (5) can be restrained bymeans of several methods. Selected method depends on the intended use ofthe washing machine. Same pump (16) can be used for circulation andevacuation (43); however, if a pump is employed solely for circulationpurposes, then a separate pump (17) can be used for evacuation purposes.

The basic method of controlling drum (5) impermeability consists ofdiminishing permeability of drum perforations (8). If it is a perforatedconventional drum, the number and/or diameter of the perforations (8) onthe drum (5) have to be reduced. In order to realize the differencesbetween standard perforations and reduced perforations in numbers andsizes are illustrated in FIG. 1, wherein FIG. 1C shows standardperforations (8) and FIG. 1B reduced perforations (20-b).

Considering the thickness of stainless metal sheet (9) of a drum (5)which has to be resist the high pressures during extraction, it is toughand uneconomical to punch the small sized perforations (20-b). Smallperforations (20-a) can also be placed onto the front (47-a) and/or back(47-b) cover surfaces of drum (5). Apart from reducing the size ofperforations (8) on the metal surface (9) of a drum (5), differentmethods described below can be implemented to restrain waterpermeability from a drum. The perforated cylindrical surface (9) of adrum (5) can be coated by sheeting (22-a) produced from an adequatematerial comprised from smaller perforations (21) as illustrated in FIG.2B. Said sheeting (22-a), shown to disclose drum perforations (8) hascut from line (C), can be manufactured from a hard material such as thinstainless metal sheet or a semi rigid material such as plastic or a softmaterial such as rubber. Coating can be applied directly onto a drummetal sheet (9) permanently or detachably. A coating sheet (22-a) madeout of rubber or a plastic material comprises small perforations (21)matching the drum perforations (8). In methods wherein waterpermeability from a drum (5) is limited by way of small perforations(21), water drainage is continuous and the flow speed thereof mayincrease under the increased pressure during spinning. FIG. 3 revealsthat when coating sheet (22-c) is manufactured from an elastic materiallike rubber, holes of passageways do not necessarily constitute a gap.Perforations can be in the form of slits like “+” as shown on the samplein FIG. 3 or may constitute slits (23) in various other forms. Slits(23) prevent water drainage up to a certain pressure level depending onthe size thereof depending on the characteristics and thickness of usedelastic material; but these slits start opening under the pressureduring extraction, letting water drain out of the drum. Such elasticmaterial (22-c) can be fixed directly onto the surface (9) or appliedthereon (9) detachably. As shown in detail in FIG. 3-A, the back side ofthe coating sheet is provided with conical protrusions (25). A coatingsheet which is mounted by way of said conical protrusions (25) thatlocked when inserted inside perforations (24) of a drum, can bedismounted from the surface (9) thereon (5) and can be converted into aconventional washer drum (5) or can be altered with different surfacecoatings (22) as per the scope of application. During evacuation cycleof a cleaning-aimed washing process, water must drain out from the drum(5) through the perforations thereon in order to remove particles, atleast partly, which do not dissolve in water. The specific embossedcoating sheet (22-d), manufactured from a material such as rubber orplastic shown in FIG. 4, that has a fastener system (26) to fix it ontothe perforated drum surface from holes which not only well fits to thedrum perforations (8) but also have passages through and facilitatesdrainage from a drum during extraction because of the inclined surfacearound the small perforations (21) placed on bottom of the hollow (28)between bulging protrusions (27). Bulges (27) may be provided in manydifferent shapes and sizes. For an example, FIG. 4 illustrates a coating(22-d) with pyramidal protrusions (27). Another method for reducing drumperforations (8) is disclosed in FIG. 6, wherein a perforated metalsheet (19) is directly and entirely coated with rubber or plasticmaterial (29), constituting a thickness (30) that reduces (42) the sizeof large perforations of a metal sheet (8-b). Perforations, reduced insize (42) through coating of the metal sheet (19) can be mounted ontothe perforated sheet (9) of a drum. The surface of the material (29)used in coating said metal sheet (19) can be shaped like the coatingdisclosed in FIG. 4 (22-d) with different shaped and sized bulgingprotrusions (27).

Another benefit of coating a perforated metal sheet (9 or 19) with amaterial (29) such as plastic or rubber is the prevention of damagesthat caused by perforations (8) to delicate laundry. Since the edges ofperforations (42) of plastic or rubber material (29) cannot be as sharpas those of stainless metal sheet, laundry will not be damaged duringrubbing.

One other method to achieve restrained water drainage from the drum (5)is applying a coating onto a perforated surface (9) with sheeting madeby a lasting textile or compressed fibers or sheeting out of a porousrubber or plastic material or some similar substance (22-b), asillustrated in FIG. 2A. A textile can be employed for this purpose, saidtextile densely woven with a synthetic fiber to enable the requiredamount of water drainage. There is also the possibility of employingsheeting (22-b) constituted with fibers fixated together in a way thatpermits a limited amount of water to pass through or sheeting (22-b)with some spongeous plastic or rubber that enables limited drainagethrough the pores therein. In conventional drums during a washingprocess, fine and delicate textile worn out through perforation (8)edges, even penetrating inside, and can be damaged by the sharp edges ofsaid perforations (8) or by the burrs formed therein. Another advantageof coating the surface with a textile (22-b) or with some other waterpermeable substance is to prevent the drum perforations (8) to damagelaundry by way of stopping all contacts between said perforations (8)and said textile.

When water drains out from a drum (5) just through a textile or waterpermeable material sheeting (22-b), particles that should be removedtogether with water may remain inside because said sheeting (22-b)functions like a filter that permits the flow of water only. Thisproblem can be resolved through providing the drum (5), in addition to awater permeable textile coating (22-b), drum front (47-a) and/or back(47-b) cover surfaces are provided with small perforations (20-a), thenparticles suspended in water can be discharged from the drum (5) duringall of the wet cycles; therefore, during extraction, particles do notcause a trouble when water pass through the textile (22-b) or throughthe fissured elastic coating (22-c) or through any other water permeablesubstance (22-b) covering the cylindrical surface (9). Selecting amethod may vary by use purpose of a washing machine (1), and in somecases different methods can be combined in the same drum(5).

A second passage from the drum towards the tub is through the drum mouth(14). As demonstrated in the detail frame (FIG. 1-A), there is a spacebetween the immovable tub (10) and the rotary drum (5), wherein watercan flow without obstruction. Water drainage through said opening (37)also needs to be reduced however it is not necessary to obstructcompletely. FIG. 1-A illustrates a method wherein a gasket (34) ismounted over a drum mouth (14) in order to restrain water drainage atlow speed rotations of the drum by way of exerting pressure onto thedoor (13) glass (35) or onto an adequate surface over the tub neck bythe pressure of water and laundry onto the gasket. During extraction,centrifugal force increasing firstly lessens the exert of pressure forceapplied by gasket onto glass (35) or surface, later on separates thegasket (34) and surface (35) completely from each other by effect ofhigh spinning rotation speed on gasket and weight protrusion (36). Fanair flow occurred by the rotation of the drum (5) helps this separation.This prevents said gasket (34) from any damage due to friction at highperipheral speeds. Besides this particular method given as example,various other known passage diminishing methods can also be employed torestrict water drainage, depending on door and drum types.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, a restrained amount of water draining from thedrum (5) into the tub (10) is pumped from an outlet (15) beneath of saidtub and returned to the drum (38) by means of a pump (16). Said pump(16) functioning by the principle of low pressure-high flow-rate, theamount of water inside a tub (10) either can be maintained at a desiredminimum level or can be completely evacuated through the selection of apump (16) that possesses a flow-rate higher than the rate of drainedwater out from a drum (5). In order to keep water amount at desiredlevel, pump (16) flow-rate can be regulated either by running the pumpin an on-off manner operated by water level monitoring system or bychanging motor speed of the pump through an inverter unit. For heatingwater, volume (39) beneath the tub wherein an electrical heater (41) ora steam jet is provided, should be filled with water throughout heatingcycles. Outside these cycles while washing and rinsing, all water has tobe in the drum (5) except the necessary amount which allows properfunctioning of the pump (16). Installing a steam injection or electricalheat resistance or any kind of heat exchangers on the circulation systemis another way to heat water. If requested, a filter (18) can beprovided over the circulation line (40) to separate unsolved particlesin the liquid. Adding the chemicals to the washing liquid before thecirculation line (40) and the pump (16) provides a more homogeneousmixture. Heating up the tub liquid via steam injection to thecirculation line (40) or through a heat exchanger provided on thecirculation line eliminates the need for an extra heating apparatus andvolume.

A spray nozzle (38-b) arranged on the circulation line (40) at the druminlet, as shown in FIG. 5, can regulate the route the incoming water,spraying water onto laundry (48) during washing, and augments washingand rinsing efficiency. The circulation pump (16) is stopped at the endof wet processes, and water is evacuated either through the evacuationline (43), or using a separate evacuation pump (17) upon request. Indomestic type washing machines, a pump (16) used for circulationpurposes can also be employed for evacuation purposes. For this purposea valve system mounted at the pump (16) outlet is used to direct watertowards the drum (5) or the evacuation line (43). Both pumps (16 and 17)can be employed simultaneously for circulation purposes.

As water amount is reduced inside a drum (5) during wet processes likewashing and rinsing, physical friction increases between washedmaterials (48), providing a better rubbing thereof. To enable this, avolume (44) inside the tub (10) as shown in FIG. 5 or outside the tub,can be used to store drum water. During washing, the pump (16) isstopped and most of the water inside the drum (5) is stored to the saidvolume (44). Thus, as water is stored inside the tank, drum (5) water islessened and rubbing effect augments. Water in the tank (44) can bepumped back into the drum (5) by re-operating the pump (44) to removedirt from laundry. Repeating this process at intervals will increasephysical wash efficiency.

As illustrated in FIG. 7, coating of the cylindrical surface (9) of adrum (5) with plastic, rubber or similar substance (31-b), augmentsphysical effects in washing cycles and also extraction efficiency, saidcoating comprises from a perforated (21) surface with distinctlyprotrusions (45-b) in different shapes and sizes. In the embodimentshown in FIG. 7, a coating sheet (31-b) applied onto the perforatedsurface (9) of a drum (5) for shaping purposes, restrains at the sametime water drainage as conical lockers (26), which are fixed through thedrum perforations in order to lock said material (31-b) onto the surface(9), comprise perforations (21) in the middle which are smaller thandrum perforations (8). Coating sheet (31-b) shown in FIG. 7 is appliedonto a drum surface (9) in a demountable manner but can also be fixedpermanently. There is also the possibility of coating a perforated drumsurface (9) with a substance produced by several flexible pieces (FIG.8A) that can be assembled together to constitute a cylinder or in onesingle piece (FIG. 8B,C,D) that can be shaped as a cylinder for mountingonto said drum (5). By providing in adequate size, shape, and quantityof protrusions (45) which cover the cylindrical surface (9) of a drum(5) can rotate and lift up the laundry (48) inside said drum withoutnecessitating the use of normal size lifter ribs (50), which arecurrently employed in horizontal washing machines. Such drum surfacewill have the configuration as disclosed in FIG. 5, wherein there is alarge number of ribs or protrusions (45-a) but shorter and smaller sizethan conventional ribs (50). These small-sized ribs can be applied ontoa drum surface in the form of a coating sheet (31-a) or mounted thereonseparately (32) or in groups. The number of ribs (50) is generally 3 to4 in conventional washing machines, sometimes 6 or maximum 8 inlarge-capacity ordinary industrial machines, whereas in the embodimentof this invention, small ribs (45-a) or similar protrusions (45-b, c, d)which substitute beaters (50) of conventional washing machines, are muchgreater in numbers. While the height of a rib (50) employed in aconventional drum (5) corresponds to at least approximately 6% of saiddrum diameter, the height (45) of a protrusion cited in the presentinvention corresponds to maximum approximately 6% thereof. Saidprotrusions are higher than the smooth protrusions functioning to formbulge surface which some of the producers applied on their drums usingtogether with normal ribs. Besides, as can be seen in FIG. 5 and FIG.8-D, these protrusions (45) are not necessarily shaped as conventionalribs (50). Said protrusions may come into various shapes (45-b, d) andsizes, as illustrated in FIG. 8-A, C. Furthermore, said protrusions(45-c) can be configured completely different from conventional and canbe numerous (31-c) as illustrated in FIG. 8-B. Drum surface shapes canbe implemented either as demonstrated in FIG. 8 through shaping thecoating that covers the perforated cylindrical surface (9) of a drum (5)or by way of mounting pieces (51), as in FIG. 9, through various methodsdirectly onto the perforated cylindrical surface (9) of said drum (5) toform similar view as shown in FIG. 8. Providing protrusions (45) fromsmall pieces (51) can be a more convenient solution particularly inindustrial type washing machines wherein a drum is too large to becovered with a single-piece coating material (31). Installation ofprotrusive pieces (51) produced from a material like plastic or rubber,is achieved by inserting said pieces inside the perforations (8) overthe perforated metal sheet (9) of a drum (5) and locking by imperforated(25) and/or perforated (26) conical protrusions, as illustrated in twodifferent embodiments in FIG. 9, or completely different installationmethod used for mounting of said pieces. Protrusive shaped profile(51-a) pieces those completing each other by gathering when they mountedover the drum sheet as shown in FIG. 9-B, enables shaping (32-a) of theinterior of a drum (5) with protrusions (45-e) and also covering largedrum (5) perforations (8) with smaller perforations (21). Whennecessary, protrusions (45-e) can be altered as shape, density,plurality, size and also number and diameter of its perforations (21),just by changing the pieces (51-a). Pieces (51) installed inside a drum(5) may be in various shapes and sizes. FIG. 9-A illustrates anembodiment wherein conical protrusions (45-f) are mounted separately(51-b). If said pieces (51-b) are fixed directly onto the perforations(8), the drum (5) will have an appearance (32-b) as disclosed in FIG.8-B. Another advantage of using small pieces (51) is that these pieces(51) can be replaced when worn out or broken over in time. Restrainingwater drainage and shaping drum surface (32-b) can both be accomplishedat the same time if protrusions (51-b) are fixed onto a drum surface oneby one as shown in FIG. 9-A after applying thereon a perforated surfacecoating (22-a) as illustrated in FIG. 2-B, said coating which reducesthe size of perforations over said drum surface. Protrusive drums (5)which are not equipped with normal size ribs (50) perform betterdistribution (48), thus provide better washing effect and reduce loadimpacts on the motor during washing. The coating (31) shown as sectionalschematic view in FIG. 10 can be manufactured of a rigid or an elasticmaterial at desired thickness. Said coating can be fixed permanentlyonto a drum metal sheet (9) or attached thereto (9) through theperforations (8) by means of inserted locking method (26). As shown inFIG. 13, drum perforations are seen from the cross section of theprotrusive parts (45-g) and those protrusive parts (45-g) are placed soas to cover the drum perforations; a passage (52) located underneath theprotrusive parts and corresponding to the drum perforations provides apassage of water coming from the drum to the drum perforations. Hidingthe perforations underneath the protrusions prevents the contact of adelicate material to the drum perforations.

At the end of distribution, textile (48) settles on top of protrusions(45) as shown in FIG. 10-A and starts stretching towards the hollows(46), under the pressure of increasing centrifugal force by increasingextraction speed. Such stretching enables water to squeeze out fromin-between thread fibers, clears the way for water passage, andfacilitates water to pass through said fabrics before attaining theperforations. Whereas, in conventional washing machines, duringextraction, centrifugal force increases as drum rotation speed increase,that causes proportional compression on textile placed over a drumsurface (9) and said textile blocks both water passage through textileand drum perforations that are obstructed by textile (8). Supplyingprotrusions (45) at adequate height and density will keep laundry awayfrom perforations (21) by spreading over protrusions during washing andextraction cycles. Water will easily reach the perforations (21) anddrain out from the drum (5) because fabrics (48) will not be able toblock said perforations. In such drums, as demonstrated in FIG. 5,perforations (21) may be fewer in numbers but larger in diameters. Incase of an appropriate construction of protrusions and canals inbetween, there is no necessity of placing perforations on a cylindricalsurface, placing of these perforations (20-a) onto the front and/or backcover sheet (47) of a drum as in the same level with cylindrical surfaceby corresponding to said canals would be sufficient to let water todrain out. Since, during extraction, removed water from laundry, findsits way to the perforations without facing any obstruction in thehollows (46) between the protrusions, required time to attain thedesired humidity level is also reduced. FIG. 11-A shows anotherembodiment to be applied to smaller drums (5) to configure (33) saiddrum surface, wherein a perforated metal sheet (9) is first undulatedand then given the shape (33-a) of a drum (5) in such a way that drumperforations (8) which formed in different sizes and shapes look likeall aforementioned examples, placed inside the hollows (46) and thesesmall ribs (45-g) shall be formed homogenously over the entire surface.The drum disclosed in FIG. 11-B may be fabricated partially or totallyfrom a plastic material. When the perforated surface of a drum is madeof a plastic material, the drum interior of the drum can be manufacturedwith a protrusive (45-h) surface (33-b) and the exterior with acylindrical surface (49) as shown in FIG. 11-B. Coating a perforatedmetal sheet totally with some large-pieced materials (31) might beapplied easily in small washing machines, but in larger machinesrepresented in FIG. 12, a handy application by using of small ribs(45-i, j) on the perforated metal sheet in between the drum perforations(8) could be better solution. If stainless steel used, said ribs (45-i)can be fixed onto the drum or welded directly over the perforated sheet(9). In cleaning-purposed washing machines wherein water level is low,sufficient number of small ribs (45) can rotate washing material alonebut will not be sufficient to rotate the entire floating material inmachines wherein water level is higher. Normal size ribs (50) are alsorequired in this case in addition to said small ribs (45), as can beobserved in FIG. 12-A. Sizes, shapes, and densities of protrusions (45)inside the drum must be provided to prevent any damages on the textile(48). Protrusions (45), employed in drums of industrial type stonewashing machines, a washing process that literally uses abrasivematerial like pumice stones to wear out fabrics, not only increase thephysical effect of “stone washing” on treated denim fabrics andaccelerate a worn-out appearance thereof, but also prevent said stonesto rub the perforated metal sheet (9) and contribute the lengthening oflifetime of said drum. (9). Stainless cutting-edge (45-j) protrusionsare applied to a drum that performs stone-washing by means of eitherwelding directly onto said drum or in an detachable way, as shown inFIG. 12-B. Various shaped pieces, produced from plastic or rubber andcomprise high resistance to abrade, may also be substituted to stainlessmaterial and mounted likewise onto said drum. Employing plastic pieces(51-a, b) in stone-washing drums, illustrated as example in FIG. 9,augment physical effect and prevent at the same time the wearing out ofdrum sheet (9). In time, protrusions (51) which worn out under theabrasive effect of stones, can be replaced with new ones (51)

What is claimed is:
 1. A washing-extraction machine (1) comprising: atub (10), the tub positioned on a shaft bearing (11), the shaft bearing(11) adapted to selectively orient the tub (10) either along ahorizontal plane or inclined at an angle relative to the horizontalplane; and a perforated drum (5) adapted to rotate in the tub (10),wherein the perforated drum (5) has a cylindrical surface (9), thecylindrical surface (9) comprising a plurality of protrusions (45) ofvarious shapes and sizes, wherein the height of the protrusions (45) isless than 6% of the diameter of the drum (5), and the number ofprotrusions (45) is more than thirty, wherein the protrusions (45) onthe cylindrical surface (9) of the drum (5) are located side-by-side toprovide a plurality hollows (46) in between, and to provide a protrusivestructure (31, 32, 33) on the cylindrical surface (9), and wherein aplurality of drum perforations (21) are provided on the cylindricalsurface (9) of the drum (5), the perforations (21) being arranged in thehollows (46) between the protrusions (45).
 2. The washing-extractionmachine (1) according to claim 1, wherein said perforated drum surface(9) is covered with the protrusions (45) spread around drain holes forproviding the protrusive structure (31,32,33) to create a physicalimpact on laundry items (48), to provide a rubbing effect during washingand rinsing cycles.
 3. The washing-extraction machine (1) according toclaim 1, wherein said protrusions (45) are sufficiently close to eachother to hold laundry items (48) over protrusions (45) and away from thesurface of the drum (5) during stretching of the laundry items (48)towards the hollows (46) in between the protrusions (45) without thelaundry items (48) reaching the perforations (21) and blocking theperforations (21).
 4. The washing-extraction machine (1) according toclaim 1, wherein the protrusions (45) comprise many small ribs scatteredin very short intervals and homogeneously over the perforatedcylindrical surface (9) of the drum (5) to prevent harm of laundry items(48) by spreading and holding the laundry items (48) over theprotrusions (45) to prevent contact of the laundry items (48) with theperforations (21) during all washing and extraction cycles.
 5. Thewashing-extraction machine (1) according to claim 1, wherein theprotrusions (45) are placed around the perforations (21) to create thehollows (46) in between to increase extraction efficiency by spreadingtextiles (48) over protrusions and holding stretched fabrics towardsspaces in between the protrusions (45) to draw apart for facilitatingwater flow-through during extraction.
 6. The washing-extraction machine(1) according to claim 1, wherein said protrusions (45) are sufficientlyclose to each other to keep the perforations (21) open by holdingtextiles (48) away from the perforations (21) to provide continuousdraining from the drum (5) even when permeability of the drum (5) isrestrained by reducing the number and/or diameter of the perforations(21).
 7. A washing-extraction machine (1) comprising: a tub (10), thetub positioned on a shaft bearing (11), the shaft bearing (11) adaptedto selectively orient the tub (10) either along a horizontal plane orinclined at an angle relative to the horizontal plane; and a perforateddrum (5) adapted to rotate in the tub (10), wherein the perforated drum(5) has a cylindrical surface (9), wherein the cylindrical surface (9)comprises a metal sheet, the metal sheet being undulated (33-a) withcorrugated indents and protrusions (45-g).
 8. A washing-extractionmachine (1) comprising: a tub (10), the tub positioned on a shaftbearing (11), the shaft bearing (11) adapted to selectively orient thetub (10) either along a horizontal plane or inclined at an anglerelative to the horizontal plane; and a perforated drum (5) adapted torotate in the tub (10), wherein the perforated drum (5) has acylindrical surface (9), wherein the cylindrical surface (9) of saiddrum (5) is manufactured of a plastic material (33-b) having undulatedshape with indents and protrusions (45).
 9. The washing-extractionmachine (1) according to claim 1, further comprising a protrusivecoating (31) formed on the cylindrical surface (9) of the drum (5), theprotrusive coating (31) further comprising a component selected from thegroup consisting of a single piece (31-a, d, c) and several pieces(31-b) fixed permanently or detachably on the cylindrical surface. 10.The washing-extraction machine (1) according to claim 1, wherein theprotrusions (45) are arranged over the entire interior cylindricalsurface (9) in a form selected from the group consisting of rib shapedprotrusions (45-a), pyramidal protrusions (45-b), profiled protrusions(45-e), shaped protrusions (45-g, h), ribs (45-i), protrusions havingwater flow gaps underneath (45-k) and combinations thereof.
 11. Thewashing-extraction machine (1) according to claim 1, wherein theprotrusions (45) are sheet piece ribs (45-d, j) scattered homogenouslyin short intervals.
 12. The washing-extraction machine (1) according toclaim 10, wherein the protrusions (45) are arranged so as to cover thedrum perforations (8 or 20-b) however to allow the flow of liquidunderneath gap to reach the drum perforations.
 13. Thewashing-extraction machine (1) according to claim 10, wherein theprotrusions (45) are regionally elevated to various heights to effect anon-homogeneous surface shape.
 14. The washing-extraction machine (1)according to claim 1, further comprising a pump (16) adapted to beoperated under control, mounted to a circulation line (40), the pumpadapted to selectively decrease or maintain a level of liquid in the tub(10), wherein the tub (10), drum (5), and pump (16) are adapted andoriented such that that a volume (39) that drains from the drum (5) intothe tub (10) is sucked by the pump (16) from a bottom area of the tub(10) and pumped back to the drum (5), wherein the pump (16) has a higherflow-rate capacity than a drain rate of liquid from the drum (5) intothe tub (10), and wherein the quantity and size of the drum perforations(21) are selected to achieve a drain rate of liquid from theperforations (21) that is less than the flow-rate of the pump (16). 15.The washing-extraction machine (1) according to claim 14, wherein themachine is adapted to deliver chemicals to a washing liquid through thecirculation line (40) and before the pump (16) is operated.
 16. Thewashing-extraction machine (1) of claim 1, further comprising means forheating liquid in the tub (10) selected from the group consisting of asteam injector and a heat exchanger, the means for heating being locatedon the circulation line (40), the washing-extraction machine (1) furthercomprising a filter (18) located on the circulation line (40).
 17. Thewashing-extraction machine (1) according to claim 9, wherein a gasket(34) is mounted onto the drum mouth (14) to rotate with said drum (5),and by touching either specific surface of the tub or the tub door (13)or a suitable surface (35) in order to restrain the liquid passage way.